


Those Three Words

by BlazersEtc



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Slight Canon Divergence, death cure, maze runner - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 11:49:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6193973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlazersEtc/pseuds/BlazersEtc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas would hear those same three words multiple times over his life, but not every time was as painful as the last.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Those Three Words

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm not sure what happened with this fic. It was going to end with page 250 but then something took over and BAM you have an extra little ending here. I went with a mashup of the movie and book verses and changed it a bit so that Thomas was in the Glade for longer. Anyways, this is unbetaed but enjoy!

Thomas isn't sure how he, Newt and Minho had managed to get into such a stupid conversation but here they were sitting at dinner, bickering back and forth over whether or not velociraptors could break through a double-pane glass window.

"Do you really think something that small could break through that much glass?" Minho scoffed, shaking his head as he tried to visualize what exactly Thomas was saying.

"They're not that small, they're at least as tall as you and at least six feet long! Besides imagine how easy it would be to break with a tail!" Thomas argued, taking another bite of Frypan's special that night:mashed potatoes and grilled chicken.

"And if you had a tail you couldn't break through that glass either, shuck face. It's double pane glass." Minho rolled his eyes and took another bite of his own food, shaking his head the entire time he chewed.

"I think you're both bonkers. Dinosaurs weren't even around when there was double pane glass." Newt had been entertained by their conversation at first, enjoying the random topic, but after fifteen minutes he'd grown tired of his friends bickering, especially after a long day in the garden.

"Double-pane glass isn't that thick, you can still break it with a rock so I'm sure you could break it with a Dinosaur!" Thomas insisted, taking a sip of his water and giving Minho a look like he'd grown a second head.

"What if that Dinosaur is just as klutzy as you shank? I doubt it would even have the grace to figure out how to do it." Minho smirked, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Will you two just bugger off?" Newt groaned, rubbing at his head in exasperation; but Once again Newt's request fell on deaf ears and he huffed.

"At least it would be smarter than you. It might actually find a way to get out of his trap." Thomas didn't mean it the way it sounded and Minho narrowed his eyes for a moment, Thomas realized what he'd said but he didn't take it back, to annoyed to think about it clearly. Thomas was poking a very touchy subject and if he hadn't been so annoyed he would have realized just how touchy.

"Please, Tommy. Please just let it go." Newt noticed the looks on both of his friends faced and rubbed at his temples in exasperation. He felt as if he was going to explode at any moment and he really didn't want to end a bad day yelling at his friends. Thomas looked over at Newt, noticing just how tired the boy looked: hair dirty and sticking up in twenty different directions, dark circle under his eyes and slumping shoulders; and he nodded slowly, turning back to Minho. "Sorry."

Minho shrugged and Newt thought he might finally have a moment of peace when Minho didn't reply; but of course fate couldn't be that kind.

"You know, at least you're not trapped in a room where you have to look at your ugly shuck face all day. It's really not fair since I have to."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Newt was sprawled out in the grass besides Thomas, a warm breeze dancing across his skin and cooling him after a long day of work in the glade. A greenie had been sent up earlier and as per tradition they were celebrating the only way they knew how-with Gally's special brew and a big bonfire. Newt was resting with his eyes shut, listening to the happy sound of his fellow gladers chatting and laughing, and he could feel the stress of the day slipping away as he let his muscles relax into the soft bed of grass below him.

  
"You know...I could totally beat Minho in a fight." Newt snorted at the random statement that had just popped out of Thomas's, by this point very drunk, mouth. He'd seen the two get into some heated arguments but it had never come to blows and Newt hoped that he would never have to see that day-because he was sure that Thomas would loose.

 

"Are you forgetting that you lost a fight to Gally? Minho's a hell of a lot better at fighting than him and he's bloody strong."

  
"But I'm fast. I could out run him until he gets tired."

  
Newt's eyes opened, turning his head to look at Thomas in amusement. "Please, Tommy. He's a runner too, if anything he would catch you and still get a good one in." Newt shook his head, an amused smile playing on his lips, as he repeated his earlier disbelief. "Please."

  
Thomas looked offended, propping himself up on elbow's and looking down at the blonde. He simply stared at Newt for a moment as if he were trying to work something out before he pushed himself up off the grass and Newt gave him a puzzled look.  
"Hey Minho!" Thomas yelled over to where Minho was sitting with Frypan. Minho looked up with raised eyebrows, wondering what Thomas could possibly want right now. "I bet you I can kick your ass in that ring."

  
"In your dreams shuck face." Thomas grinned at Minho's reply and wiggled his eyebrows at Newt, "When I come back, it will be a winner!"

  
Newt groaned and shook his head as Thomas walked off to meet Minho in the ring of dirt. Newt closed his eyes once more to enjoy the sounds of the glade, the occasional cheers and chants breaking out from where his two friends were brawling. Finally the rowdy bunch seemed to quite down a bit and when Newt heard someone drop to the grass beside him he opened his eyes.

  
"You were right." Thomas grumbled, huffing as he looked up at the stars. Newt frowned when he noticed the black eye that Thomas was now sporting. Anger flooded through his veins at the sight, the sudden urge to go give Minho a matching bruise was strong and Newt found himself being a little shocked by his reaction-after all Thomas was the one who'd started the mess. It was a weird feeling for Newt, he always wanted to do what was best for the gladers but this was a whole new level of needing to protect. Thomas had managed to find a way to worn his way into Newt's heart; and that was a little frightening.

  
"You can always blame it on a griever."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's not that Newt has a problem with storms, actually he's quite fond of listening to the rain and watching the thunder and lightening, but tonight the sound is keeping him awake. Newt turns over on his pallet for the fifth time, huffing in aggravation. Typically the gentle breeze in the glade is refreshing but tonight it's just pushing damp air into the tents, making all the blankets stick to his skin and making him feel sticky all over. Newt at least has the tent to himself tonight, Alby opting to spend the night in the map room looking over the things Minho and Thomas had found that morning, so there were no snores to keep him up;This presented another problem however.

  
Newt was used to falling asleep with another body just a few feet away and now that he was alone it was almost eerie. Newt turned onto his side, growling a bit under his breath as another crack of thunder made it's way through the air. Just as Newt was about to kick the covers off and try to pull an all nighters Thomas walked in. His hair a bit wet from the rain and stuck to his head in random places, dripping down onto his face.

  
"Tommy? What are you doing up?" Newt's eyebrows furrowed in concern, what if Alby had found something big? Something not so pleasant?

  
"I couldn't sleep." Thomas looked a little sheepish as he rubbed at the back of his neck. Newt was all too aware of the nightmares that plagued Thomas. He'd found the boy whimpering in his sleep far too many times during his nightly checks and each time he saw him in that state it broke his heart again. Newt hadn't expected Thomas to elaborate, so when Thomas bean to speak Newt stayed silent.

  
"I just keep seeing them you know? I don't know what they're doing or why I'm there but...I'm starting to think I worked with them. The people who made this place and...I don't want to be like them." Thomas's voice was quiet but Newt could still hear him over the soft patter of rain beyond the door. Thomas's face looked so exhausted and so...lost, that it broke Newt's heart. Newt sat up and folded his covers down to the foot of his pallet and patted the spot beside him. Thomas kicked off his wet shoes and moved across the floor slowly, taking a seat beside Newt and wrapped his arms around his knees.

  
"I don't know what you did before the Maze, and frankly I don't bloody care. What matters is who you are now and right now you're trying your hardest to get us out of here." Newt's voice was firm, letting Thomas know that he wasn't going to chance his mind on the matter.

  
"You're not like them, Tommy. Don't ever think that." Newt reached out to give Thomas's arm a gentle squeeze and Thomas gave Newt a small smile. "Thanks Newt."

  
Newt nodded, a small smile dancing on his lips. "Anytime, Tommy."

  
Newt dropped his hand but didn't move away, both boys staying silent as they listened to the storm outside. It was a while before either of them spoke, and Newt had moved to lay back against his pillow, Thomas looking down at him from where he sat. "Do you...do you ever dream about them? Your family?" Thomas asked quietly, wondering if any of the boy's ever dreamed about anything outside of this world.

  
"Not really, I mean not that I know of. No one ever has my accent, just a lot of charts and colors...a few people here and there but not anyone I can place. I don't dream too often." Newt shrugged a little, playing with the hem of his shirt.

  
"Do you think we'll ever get out?" Thomas had never been vulnerable like this before, his voice was so raw and afraid that newt wanted nothing more than to pull Thomas into his arms, a thought that a few months ago would have scared him but now it didn't even phase him anymore; Newt had long since grown accustomed to his need to protect Thomas.

  
"I think we're here for a reason. I can't see anyone wanting us here forever. When we get out, and we will get out, I want a proper life. No more of this klunk."

  
Thomas nodded, leaning his chin on his knees as he stared at the dirt floor, not wanting to look Newt in the eyes right now. Thomas stayed silent for what felt like forever but was only a few minutes before he moved.

  
"I should go and let you sleep." Newt could see even in the dark that Thomas's cheeks were wet with tears, the rain from earlier having long since vanished from his face. As Thomas stood to leave Newt grabbed his wrist, "Stay." Newt's voice was quiet, asking but not forcing the other boy to consider his offer.

  
"I don't want to bother you."

  
"You're not bothering me. I like talking to you. It's pouring bloody cats and dogs out there and with your luck you'll get struck by lightening. Stay." Newt scooted over to make room for Thomas to lay down on his pallet; Thomas's resolve wavered. Newt didn't like the idea of Thomas having to go back out into the storm, especially not when he was so upset and distracted. With the way things had been int he glade lately being distracted could mean a horrible outcome.

  
"Please, Tommy. Please?" Newt's plea was genuine and Thomas seemed to understand because the next thing he knew he was climbing into the pallet beside Newt. Newt's head immediately came to rest on Thomas's chest, the two not having many personal boundaries between them.

  
"I can't say no to you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh...Tommy..." Newt moaned quietly, his head falling back onto his pillow as his back arched up deliciously. Thomas's lips were on Newt's neck, biting and sucking little marks on the skin there. Thomas had learned quickly that while Newt was very put together and level headed while running the glade, Newt was very easy to derail in bed. Thomas loved the way a simple kiss to the neck could leave Newt writhing and begging for more and he used that to his advantage at every possible opportunity.

  
"Shuck." Thomas breathed, his hands trailing up and down the second in commands sides, enjoying the feeling of soft skin below his finger tips. If Thomas could live in this moment forever he would; but unfortunately Minho only left them alone once a week or so and that meant Thomas had to take what he could get and savor ever second of it.

  
Both boy's were sweating, each too lost in the other to notice, desperate for that high that they could only get in stolen moments like these.

  
"Tommy, I can't last much longer." Newt whimpered, biting his lip gently as his eyes fell shut, trying to focus on holding off on his orgasm. Thomas was fucking into him in a way that drove Newt crazy and Thomas had purposefully been dragging it out for as long as possible. Thomas's own face was twisted in pleasure, his arms shaking from the effort to stay above Newt without crushing him. The way Newt looked when he was lost in pleasure was a sight that Thomas was addicted to. Newt's hair was messy and splayed out on the pillow below him, his cheeks red with the effort to hold back, flushed with pleasure; and the way his nails dug into Thomas back drove him mad. Thomas knew exactly how to make Newt scream and what to do to make him beg for more; but right now Thomas was too far gone to have any of those goals in mind.

  
Newt's back arched almost violently as Thomas hit his prostate and the moan that slipped from Newt's mouth was cut off into a whine. "Please, Tommy, Please!"

  
That was enough to send Thomas over the edge, thrusting his way through his orgasm and bringing Newt over the edge with him.  
Both boy's were breathing hard as they came down, Thomas's arms giving out as he landed on top of Newt and snuggled against the sweaty boy.

  
"I don't think I can move ever again."

  
"Well, that's going to suck for you shuck faces because we have an early start tomorrow." Minho's voice came from the once empty doorway and Thomas saw a pillow flying at Minho's head.

  
"Get out of here shuck-face." Newt grumbled, holding Thomas closer to his body.

  
"Hey, I sleep here too. Both of you get decent so I can get some sleep."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thomas's hands were shaking so badly that if he hadn't known any better he would say he was having a seizure. Newt had him pinned to the cold, hard concrete and the loose rocks were digging harshly into his spine even through his clothing; but none of that mattered. Thomas couldn't even feel the discomfort, his mind was focused on the boy above him. His best friend, the boy who had helped him through everything since he'd been sent up in that box, his boyfriend who'd given him his first time and the happiest memories he had, was currently threatening to kill him if he didn't shoot first.

  
"Do it before I become one of them!"

  
Newt's voice was harsh, and terrified Thomas to his core. If he didn't fight back surely newt would tear him limb from limb but fighting back meant hurting the one person he'd sworn to protect above everyone else. Thomas could feel his heart ripping in his chest as he tried to think of possible scenarios-and none of them turned out well.

  
"I..."

  
"KILL ME!" Newt roared, pressing on Thomas's shoulders, shoving his body weight into them and causing Thomas to whimper out loud at the pain that it was causing him. Newt's eyes seemed to soften when he realized that Thomas was in pain, what little part of his humanity was left told him that he couldn't keep doing this to the person he loved and the longer he was alive the worse he would get.

  
"Please, Tommy, Please." Newt pleaded, his eyes welling up with tears as he leaned forward to press his lips against Thomas's. Thomas allowed himself a moment to kiss back, both boy's knowing that this kiss would be there last. When Newt pulled back he reached up to cup Thomas's cheek in his palm, fighting off the urge to rip his throat out, the flare was quickly coming back to cloud his mind. "I love you. Goodbye, Tommy."

  
Thomas pulled Newt in for one last kiss, pulling back just enough to look into Newt's eyes. "I love you too, Newt."

A loud bang rang out and Newt's body went limp. Thomas rolled the boy off of himself and let out a sob that hurt so much Thomas wondered if he'd missed and shot himself. Thomas's entire body was shaking and he wasn't sure how he was still breathing-or even if he was. Thomas was in shock and nothing was making any sense to him, the only thing running through his head was the fact that Newt was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thomas sat back against a log by the fire, fruit juice in hand as Minho told the group around the circle a story of their days back in the glade. It had been a hard road at first, building an entire community from scratch hadn't been easy but with Minho in charge things had taken off quickly and in just a few short years their small group had flourished. Minho insisted on making Thomas his second in command, though Thomas made Minho promise to call it something else because it reminded him too much of a certain blonde.  

  
At first Thomas had kept the story of Newt's death a secret but one night after far too much coconut liqour he'd ended up bawling into Minho's arms and spilling the entire story to him. Minho hadn't even been angry at Thomas, instead he'd stayed with him and shed his own tears for his friend. Though Minho was quick to forgive, Thomas wasn't. Five years later and Thomas was still having nightmares of Newt's face, though the once nightly dreams had turned into monthly ones. Thomas and Minho had been fixing up Minho's place, Thomas had gone to the cupboard to grab something to drink and found the stash of 'tea' (Minho's secret mix of leaves and dried fruit that could make a somewhat decent substitute for the real stuff) and Thomas swore he could feel Newt laughing at him for actually drinking the stuff.

  
There were times when Thomas would be out running from place to place and he'd swear he'd see Newt limping along out of the corner of his eye only to turn and find that he was completely alone. Tonight was one of those nights for Thomas, he'd had a rough day and the little get together that was supposed to be relaxing him was only making him think back to his first night in the glade; and sitting beside Newt at the fire.  
Minho seemed to pick up on Thomas's mood and gently nudged his arm, offering him a small smile before turning back to the group. Thomas looked around the circle, noticing that his old friends had mixed with his new and he liked this group. Gladers were missing: Chuck, Winston, Frypan, Teresa, Newt...Thomas's heart seemed to twist tightly in his chest. No one would ever replace them but maybe, just maybe, he could start to feel better again.

  
"You can be happy you know. You need to move on, Tommy. Don't be a bloody slinthead."

  
Thomas's eyebrows furrowed at the voice, one he hadn't heard in years, one he only heard in his dreams. Thomas looked around wildly, trying to locate the source of the voice,  wondering if he'd officially gone crazy or if he'd drank too much of the coconut drink again. Thomas moved away from the fire, just enough so that his friends wouldn't hear him, wanting a moment of privacy.

  
"Newt?" No answer, so Thomas tried again, this time telepathically.

  
_"Newt?"_

  
_"I'm here Tommy. Listen, I don't have much time, turns out the afterlife for cranks has a bit of bleed through but it's taken this long for me to be able to even find a window."_

  
_"What are you talking-"_

_"Tommy, listen. It's time for you to move on. I miss you, I truly do, but nothing would make me happier than to see you living, not just going through the motions. Go have a ball and tell that slinthead he better make sure you don't drop anything else on your foot. I can pull off a limp but you looked bloody ridiculous." Thomas couldn't help but smile a little at the memory, he never had been very coordinated._

  
_"I-"_

  
_"I've seen the way you look at her and you may not know it yet, but you like her. Don't let a memory of me hold you back. You can't change the past, Tommy. You did the right thing. Now you need to go live."_

  
_Thomas could feel his throat tightening as tears began to slide down his cheeks. It was hard enough to accept the fact that Newt was gone but now Newt was telling him to move on, to give his heart to someone else and Thomas wasn't completely sure that he could do it. Thomas knew that even if he tried it would never compare to the feelings he'd held for Newt. Newt had been there through the hardest times in his life, through the good and the bad, and Newt always knew exactly what to say. Newt was Thomas's other half, the puzzle piece that had been missing for all of his life; and no one could ever replace him._

  
_"Newt...I-"_

  
_"I know, Tommy. I know. I love you too. Now get back to your friends."_

  
_Thomas wanted to reply but his head hurt so much that he didn't know where to begin and he had a feeling that Newt knew that and that's exactly why he'd said what he had. Newt always understood Thomas, even when Thomas didn't understand himself._

  
_"Thanks Newt."_

  
_There was no reply and Thomas knew that his time with Newt was up. Thomas rubbed roughly at his face, trying to wipe away the trace of his conversation. Thomas knew that this really was goodbye, and if Thomas did one thing it would be to fulfill Newt's last wish to him. Thomas would try to give his heart to someone else, try to fall in love again and maybe if he was lucky, he'd have a relationship with them close to what he and Newt had shared. He knew that somewhere Newt was looking down on him and he wanted to make Newt proud and even if Thomas would never see him again, just knowing that he could still make Newt happy made things better. Thomas took a moment to collect himself before he went back tot he fire and sat down, giving the girl beside him a small smile._


End file.
